2010 was a great year for rap, but oddly enough, many albums were so consistent that they
didn't have a standout track. For example, B. Dolan's "Fallen House, Sunken City", Lil B's "Roses
Exodus" and Madlib's "Madlib Medicine Show No. 7: High Jazz" were three of my favorite albums
this year but don't have a song on the list. Spoiler alert: lots of Kanye, KiD CuDi, Johnny
Polygon, and Lil B. Enjoy.

Let's be honest year - 2010 was the year of Lil B. He was hands down the best, most productive rapper
this year. Good, now that we've gotten out of the way, it was really hard to choose out of all his great
songs this year (hint: he had a ton) but this is one of them. It's a testament to just how thoughtful Lil B
is. The message here is extremely happy and optimistic, but there's a sense of melancholy to it. Coupled
with the whitewashed video, I honestly cried. "It's time to show how the leaders of the future are
supposed to be."

Although I wasn't too much of a proponent of his newest album, I couldn't help but find that there were so
many great songs on there. The first half of the album set an extremely high standard that the second half
failed to come anywhere close to meeting, and "REVOFEV" was the first song in that standard-setting
sequence. "REVOFEV" sees CuDi chipping in his best vocal performance to date over jangling pianos,
symphonic strings, and grand drums. This would have been the fucking track to my New Year's Eve if I
hadn't gotten grounded.

Usually, posthumous releases are shit, but this song is awesome. It showcases Pimp C's amazing falsetto
as he sings about the extravagance of the pimpalicious lifestyle over a snazzy soul beat straight out of the
70's.

Despite squandering all the momentum he had built up coming into this year (in case you didn't know,
2009 was Gucci's year, no doubt,) Gucci had a couple great songs in 2010. This is one of them. "Trap Talk"
sees a return to Gucci's crack kingpin roots over a dark, stomping Drumma Boy production. Not his best
lyrical effort, but it gets the job done extremely well.

As evidenced by my obsession with Three 6 Mafia, I love the crunk scene that Memphis had to offer in the
90s. "Fuck The Club Up" is a moshpit anthem and Waka channels his incredible energy into a nostalgic
track that recalls Memphis' crunk heydays and pays homage to Three 6 Mafia's "Hit a Muthafucka".

"Album Of The Year" was not, actually album of the year, as the double-entendre of the title suggested it
would be, but damned if it wasn't a great album, and this was the best song off of it. Black Milk chips in the
best lyrical offering, despite Royce and Elzhi being here. Ultimately, it's a lyrical fireworks show, and that
beat is pretty good too.

In his book "Decoded", Jay-Z said that one of the most tried-and-true methods of determining a rapper's
lyrical quote was the self-centered song - to take an ages old concept and flip it on its head by talking
about the same stuff but with pure lyrical wittiness. Big Boi does not only this on the self-aggrandizing
anthem, but that beat is fucking immense. With truly epic horns, an amazing operatic sample and hard-as-
fuck drums, the instrumental is guaranteed to make your jaw drop every time.

This guy is incredibly underrated as a producer. As a rapper, he matches your typical producer-rapper skills
a la Dr. Dre, but this song cracks my Top 40 based on the strength of the instrumental alone. A hybrid of
dubstep and hip-hop, "Drop Top Swag"'s instrumental is dirty and loud, and Young L rides it all the way to
the 31st spot.

Although Snoop Dogg, Game, and YG remixed Wiz Khalifa's "Black and Yellow" beat into "Purp and Yellow"
to hail the Lakers, "Swag Jerry Rice" is the best Cali sports rap anthem (apologies to Jay Rock.) Lil B name
drops Hall of Fame wideout Jerry Rice, veteran Lakers guard Derek Fisher, and a few others (as he usually
does) and "woo"s and "swag"s over machine gun drums and dark, twinkly synths. This track is almost
criminally unnoticed, as it came out early in December.

Honestly, this would probably have cracked my top ten if it weren't for the Rozay appearance. It's not that
Officer Ricky did a bad job, per se, I just feel as if he is out of place on the beautiful beat. Kanye did a great
job lyrically too.

I don't know how I like this song so much. I usually hate Cool & Dre, I despise Lil Twist (and autotune),
and non-lyrical Wayne can f.o.a.d, but there's just something about the song that's so fucking catchy. If
you listen closely, you might notice the beat is a synthesized cover of the guitar riff of The Killers' "When
You Were Young".

Damon Albarn is a fucking vocal genius. This album has grown on me so much since I first listened to it,
and the title track is so sublimely catchy. When he dreamily drawls "It's a Casio on a plastic beach, it's sort
of made of computer screens," over those shimmering Casio notes, I almost fall asleep every time.
Awesome song.

Technically this song was leaked by Soulja Boy early last year, Lil Jon's oft-delayed debut came out this
year, so here it is. Soulja Boy contributes a decently cheesy lyrical effort and Lil Jon brings stupendous
energy to the song as he always does, but the beat makes this song (bet you didn't see that coming.) It's
a signature Drumma Boy beat with lightning-fast TR-808s ticking like bombs in the background and the
synth-riff is eerily reminiscent from something in "In the Hall of the Mountain King".

Even though Gucci Mane did a shitty job on his own this year, he pitched in some great guest verses, and
this is one of them. Big Boi didn't do a bad job at all either, but the beat sounds like something you'd hear
in an elevator; it's just so relaxing.

Here he is again. This was my second favorite track off of The Legend of Mr. Rager, and it could have easily
been on The End of Day. This 4 minute, 20 second-long track sees Cudder sleepily rapping about his
favorite flower over a fucking superb starry and atmospheric beat.

Although I was generally displeased with "The Colossus", I've listened to this track consistently this year. A
bouncy beat and RJD2's voice are both great enough to make this one of the best tracks of 2010. Walk
with meeeee-eeee-eeee-eeee, ay-ayyy! Ay-ayyy!

Although most people know them for "Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell", this is hands down their best
song. Off of their Shut Up, Dude mixtape, "Fake Patois" is a gurgling, blurry electrofunk track with great
vocals and great lyrics.

Finally, DOOM got off of his lazy ass. Although Madlib and DOOM are polar opposites in work ethic (Madlib
released so much shit this year, while DOOM was more or less non-existent) when the two get together,
the results are always delightful. It's a testament to how good they are that their only song this year (and
in six years, if I'm not mistaken) is this good. Madlib serves up an ever-changing beat with an awesome
Krautrock sample and Metal Face does work on it.

Now, I didn't listen to everything that OFWGKTA put out this year, but from what I've listened to (Radical,
Rolling Papers, Mellowhype, Earl) this is easily the best song from the collective. It's an absurdist rap battle
that takes place in, well, a supermarket between two customers. They stop short of nothing, and threats
to stab people with RPGs and to sick ninjas on them are doled out. Epic.

Just as surprising (and funny) as Kanye's line "The same people that tried to blackball me forgot about two
things: my black balls" was Gucci's line "got somebody to introduce you to, baby that's these nuts." This is
one of Gucci's best lyrical efforts this year, the beat is awesome, and it was one of a few good songs off of
that shitty Burrprint 2 (HD) tape.

Damn their album sucked, but damn this song rocked. Still does. Surprisingly, it's not produced by Young L
(credit goes to Team Umizoomi for this one) and disappointingly, there's no Lil B, but this song is amazing
nevertheless. Everybody showcases some dumb lyrics but make up for it with undeniably captivating
deliveries.

Adam Downer called Big Boi's debut "smart music for dumb people". Well Waka Flocka Flame's debut was
"dumb music for smart people". "Hard In Da Paint" sees Waka rattling off dumbly catchy lyrics left and
right all the while sounding like a cold, hard gangster over a monstrous Lex Luger production.

T.I. had the budget to go monetarily overboard on that piece of shit No Mercy, but didn't have enough cash
to let Dro release another album? Come the fuck on. "Freeze Me" and its subsequent remix were two great
songs with lyricism that ran deeper than you would expect. Plus that beat is insane.

When a song relies on a gimmick to succeed, that gimmick better be on point, otherwise the track will flop.
Well, Johnny Polygon's gimmick here was on point. At first, this may just seem like another song about
rejection and heartbreak, but look a little closer (possibly with help from the fanmade video that Poly
cosigned) and you'll notice that Johnny's professing his infatuation with several Bayside High girls of Saved
by the Bell fame. That's cool.

Honestly, this has one of the best beats I've heard in quite awhile. The grinding art-rock guitar riffs go
perfectly with KiD CuDi's A+ hook and the great verses put in by Rae and 'Ye. It's atmospheric and it's
impressive.

Lil B's best song this year, and that's saying something. Bubbly, energized bloops make for a fucking
awesome beat and Lil B goes in on infamous bitch/groupie Kat Stacks. The video for this brought attention
to his cooking dance phenomena also.

A little over three years ago, rap lost a pioneer and a legend. A little over 6 months ago, rap gained an heir
apparent of said legend: Big K.R.I.T. Coming out of Mississippi with southern swag and a penchant for
pimping production to match, all K.R.I.T. needs is a pocket full of stones to match. "Country Shit" is a
fucking great track, and I'm sure Pimp C, may he rest in peace, would approve.

I have listened to this song many a time. It was the best song off of one of the best albums this year. It
has all you could want, the best chorus this year, a funky beat, a couple of rock-solid Big Boi verses, a cool
little cameo from p-funk legend George Clinton, and a hilariously out-of-the-blue stanza from Too $hort.
Awesome song.

Even though it was released barely over two weeks ago, I estimate I've listened to this song roughly 200
times. It's so good. I'm a bit biased because it describes a current personal dilemma of mine eerily closely,
but it's a damn good song. Johnny's a great singer, a great lyricist, and I orgasm when I hear the buzzing
bass drops during that godly chorus. Listen to this song if you haven't.